Bearclaw Invitational

More than 20 of the world’s best riders have signed on to compete in the second annual Bearclaw Invitational slopestyle contest at Mount Washington Alpine Resort August 2-4.

This event, organized by one of the discipline’s most dominant athletes, Darren Berrecloth, promises to be a wild ride – a competition that not only will impress the crowds, but help propel the sport forward, Mount Washington Director of Public Relations Brent Curtain said.

“Our sport is one of the most dangerous and risky of the extreme sports genre and I feel that the riders deserve better courses and higher prize purses,” Berrecloth said. “That’s why I’m doing this.”

Berrecloth - “Claw” - is putting together a rich prize purse and making the event as rider-friendly as possible. Instead of a full weekend for qualifying and the finals, the Bearclaw Invitational will stage all the action in one day.

Competitors will get two runs and the best will count. Practice runs begin Thursday, August 2 with the finals sets for Saturday, August 4. “It’s good for the crowd and less stress on the riders that way,” he said.

Mount Washington is Berrecloth’s home resort and offers one of the best bike parks in B.C., Curtain said. Noted for it s steep terrain and epic dirt, the resort was a perfect choice to host the contest.

“This will be a rider-built course on one of the most perfect slopes with the best dirt I’ve ever been on a mountain,” says Berrecloth. This year, “Claw” and Mount Washington have partnered with Bike Magazine on the event, which has ran the successful Monster Park slopestyle contest.

“It made perfect sense to partner with Darren,” said Lou Mazzante, Bike’s editor. “We have a ton of respect for him and want to support his efforts to make a truly rider-friendly contest. That’s exactly the idea behind Monster Park, and it made sense to combine our events, rather than compete against one another,” he said.

In addition to the main contest, there will be a step-up competition as well as entertainment, food and a beer garden set up next to the course.